After two years and four failed attempts, a ragdoll cat that belonged┬аto a Kelowna, B.C., woman has been successfully cloned.┬а
Kris Stewart received not one┬аbut two kittens┬аcloned using DNA from her beloved cat Bear.
Stewart said┬аshe sent Bear’s DNA to ViaGen, a Texas-based pet cloning company, after he died at the age of five in a traffic accident in January 2022.┬а
“I just felt like there was more living that needed to be done by Bear,” said Stewart.┬а
The process of cloning involves putting the animal’s DNA into an embryo, which is transferred to the uterus of a surrogate cat who carries and births the babies, according to Kerry Bowman, a bioethicist who works at the University of Toronto.┬а
The kittens, who Stewart has named Bear Bear and Honey Bear, were born on Jan. 10.┬аAfter staying with their mother in the company’s New York facility┬аfor eight weeks, Stewart was finally able to pick them up on Wednesday.┬а
“They both seem like Bear,” she said. “These guys are bold and sassy.”┬а
After two years and four failed attempts, Kris Stewart has successfully cloned her beloved ragdoll cat, Bear, who died in 2022. She received two cloned kittens from Texas-based pet cloning company ViaGen, which she named Bear Bear and Honey Bear.
Stewart described┬аBear as rambunctious and highly intelligent.┬а
“Bear was the smartest animal I think I’ve ever had, and I’ve had animals since I was two years old.”
Fewer than five per cent of cloned animals survive birth, according to Bowman.┬а
He said cloned animals usually have a reduced life expectancy and may have abnormalities, including enlarged organs.┬а
Stewart said four embryo transfers failed before Bear Bear and Honey Bear were born. She said┬аthe process cost her about $50,000 in total.
But she is “thrilled” to be with her new kittens, whom she says are showing some similarities to Bear.┬а
Cloning ethics
The world’s first animal clone, Dolly the Sheep, was born in Scotland in 1996. Bowman says since then, commercial pet cloning is on the rise, with celebrities┬аsuch as Barbra Streisand speaking out about their experiences.┬а
But he says there is debate around whether cloning pets should be allowed.┬а
“We’ve got massive amounts of animals in shelters, when it comes to cats, my understanding is some still end up euthanized,” said Bowman.┬а
He said there are also risks to the mothers carrying┬аthe clones, and the rates of miscarriages and stillbirths for clones is high.
“Animals can’t consent to anything.”
ViaGen said in an email statement to CBC┬аNews that it has thousands of clients worldwide, including┬аabout a dozen in Canada.┬а
Bowman said he can understand the desire to clone a cherished lost pet, but warned that clones will not be exactly the same as the original.┬а
While they share DNA, circumstances in which the animal was born are different. He said in some cases people have found their cloned pets are not similar in disposition to the┬аoriginal.
“I had a childhood dog … I’d love to see that dog again,” said Bowman. “But [a clone]┬аwouldn’t be the same dog.”
